F'in hoax!

MediumD

MediumD

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Yesterday I was telling someone how I was almost at 40k of relatively trouble free ownership on this Mark VIII (alternator, oil filter adapter gasket were all the problems I had.)

Today I'm driving a 375mi round trip to Tucumcari NM. On the way I wind it out to the 130 limiter catching up to a CTS that had just blown by me, and I use him as a cop magnet following behind him at 110.. I stop to take a leak and continue on at a normal speed, but now it seems like the torque convector is unlocking up the slightest grade. My instant MPG reading is lower than I would expect by 3-4mpg.

On the way back, I've got cruise set at 79mph, a little over 2k rpm. Suddenly the rpms shoot up to 3500, then 4500 and climbing.. I turn off cruise, pop it in neutral and coast to a stop. Check the fluid, level's good and it doesn't smell bad. This is where the swearing begins.

I guess it toasted the one way clutch, because it's good in 1st and 2nd, then acts like it's in neutral when it tries to upshift to 3rd. I limped it back at 3400rpm at 55mph in 2nd, managed 19.7mpg doing it too. It's got 118k on it now, I figured I had another 25k in it at least but I guess not.

Now to figure out what to do with it, it's ugly inside and out, but has run great up to this point. Since I have the Super Coupe I was really only using it as a work/highway car, and was planning on selling it. It will probably get parted, because even if I fix it it's not worth more than 1500.

:mad: I don't foresee the swearing ending any time soon.
 
get used 2000+gt trans for 3-400$$$ and spend a saturday with a friend throwing it in.then you will have a good nearly bullet proof tranny to beat on for years to come
 
Auto boxes are abit of a mystery to me but i would have thought that if one of the clutches had burned up, the fluid would be very contaminated and stink. Hopefully it isnt a clutch but something more simple.
 
the OWC wont cause the fluid to smoke like a standard clutch pack.
 
yeah. its not a clutch as we think of. there are a few variations on how to do it but its all hard parts. no clutch material.
 
Markviiiedrea said:
posb a MLPS, but it dose sound like the tranny went on strike!
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Actually the last couple times I've downshifted from 3rd to 2nd it has gone into 2nd for awhile and then seemed to go into neutral... so MLPS is a possibility. But in Drive it seems like it's trying to engage 3rd but failing to do so..

Mr Wiggl3s said:
How did you switch to neutral when you were going?
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By putting the shifter into the Neutral position :p

Moes8 said:
get used 2000+gt trans for 3-400$$$ and spend a saturday with a friend throwing it in.then you will have a good nearly bullet proof tranny to beat on for years to come
Click to expand...

That's what I'm thinking of doing if I decide to fix it. But a $400 trans into a car that I am not going to need anymore, that I probably couldn't get $1500 for... I dunno.


However, my friend has a 97 LSC that he plans to do a stall, rebuild, and JMod to... so I am considering pulling my trans, giving it to him so we can rebuild/JMod it and put it into his car. Then yoink his trans and toss it in mine until I decide to sell the car.
 
could be the input shaft, they break clean without warning. mine did the same thing, apparently a factory flaw. my tranny inside was clean as a whistle, just a clean brake in the shaft. once fixed it will be as strong as anything.
 
Try the MLPS before you do anything. It's a really cheap fix, if that turns out to be the problem. If that's not it, my bet is the 4R70W is dead. After that, if the car's in as craptastic physical condition as it sounds, I'd part it and buy a new one.
 
Well... I found a built 4R70w with a 3000 stall for $900. If I can talk my friend with the 97 into buying that, I could get his old trans for cheap.

But yes the car has several dents, oxidized paint, broken grille, terrible headlights, and a couple tears in the drivers seat. So it might be parted.

And here's a somewhat related question - Are the doors the same between Gen 1 and Gen 2s? Obviously the mirrors aren't, but they could be switched over if the doors themselves are the same.

I won't be buying another Mark VIII if this one goes away, I still like them, but with the Eldo and SC, I have no real need for one...

driller said:
Did you have a tranny cooler?
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Nope. I never bothered since I never saw the coolant temp high, never had a stall or any performance stuff done, and mostly because 98% of the miles I put on it have been highway where the TCC should be locked.
 
MediumD said:
Nope. I never bothered since I never saw the coolant temp high, never had a stall or any performance stuff done, and mostly because 98% of the miles I put on it have been highway where the TCC should be locked.
Click to expand...

That may be true, but the stock tranny setup was not meant for extended triple-digit driving - one reason fleet vehicles for law enforcement have tranny coolers.

Then again it may have not had anything to do with the failure.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
 
Oh, and for the record, I can count the times I've done extended triple digit driving on one hand... or maybe two. Mostly because I don't enjoy the massage I get thanks to the 2 piece of crap driveshaft over 100mph. It's limited to only 130 so meh what's the point :p

The stock trans may not be setup for extended triple digit driving, and may not have a trans cooler. But it still has a cooler built into the radiator doesn't it? The times I have taken the speed that high the engine coolant temp dropped from where they are when cruising at 75..



Oh, and are the doors the same between Gen 1 and Gen 2s?
 
Thanks Markviiiedrea. I bet it wouldn't be too terrible to just use the door wiring from the Gen 2... but I'm probably going to just replace the trans. My friend should be buying a built 4R70w for his 97, so I'll just yoink his old trans.
 
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